


'til all my sleeves are stained red

by boasamishipper



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Angst, Crossover speculation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fungus Among Us, Island of the Lost Dakotas, M/M, Self-Sacrifice, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-09 06:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12270585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boasamishipper/pseuds/boasamishipper
Summary: Cavendish finds out.





	'til all my sleeves are stained red

**Author's Note:**

> Since it seems all I’m capable of writing for these two is angst, I figured I’d write some more based on Fungus Among Us and Island of the Lost Dakotas. (Speaking of the latter – god damn.) Much like my last fic, this is all speculation that will most likely be jossed, but I wanted to post it anyway.
> 
> And there will be a part two.

Of all the things to think of at this time, what came to Dakota’s mind was the joke that ended, “But you screw  _one goat_ …”

It was appropriate for the occasion. He and his partner were time travelers who had saved the world once from sentient pistachios and now had to do it again. For allies, they had a dog, the star of an unmade popular science fiction television series, a boy around whom everything that could go wrong would go wrong, a mad scientist who would invent time travel twelve years in the future, and an anthropomorphic crime-fighting platypus. Then after they’d fixed the time machine and returned to the scene, the car’s battery had died, and he and Cavendish had gone off to find jumper cables while Milo and Orton Mahlson took refuge with the time vehicle in a gas station. Now he and his partner were hiding in an alley while the Pistachions were searching for them.

At this point, Dakota thought that he could handle anything.

That was until Cavendish had turned to face him with an expression as serious as sin and announced that he would distract the Pistachions so Dakota could return to Milo and Orton, jump-start the car, and go back to reverse this from ever happening.

Dakota finally regained the ability to speak once it became clear that Cavendish wasn’t kidding. “Are you out of your  _mind_?”

“No, Dakota, I’m not.” Cavendish didn’t even sound offended. Just…resigned, in a way. As though he’d already accepted this turn of events for truth. “You’re faster than me and I trust you to get the cables back to Orton and Milo. I’ll hold the Pistachions off as long as I can to give you a headstart.”

Dakota’s throat went dry. He refused to accept this. “Cav…” Facts were swirling around him and a numbing, fearful cold was spreading through his body. If Cavendish died here and they managed to reset the timeline, then Dakota wouldn’t be able to go back in time to save him. “No. Don’t do this. There has to be another way.”

“There’s no time to come up with anything better.”

“But if you do this then you'll—then they’ll—” He couldn’t even entertain the thought of Cavendish dying. Not in a way that he couldn’t fix. “I won’t let you do this.” He tried to give the jumper cables to Cavendish, but his partner wouldn’t take them. “Let me do it—”

“No, Dakota—”

“C'mon, the coast is clear, you should—”

“Dakota—”

“Just make a run for it, I'll—”

“Damn it, Dakota, will you listen to me?”

Stunned, Dakota fell silent. In all of the time that they’d known each other, Cavendish had never snapped at him like that.

Cavendish looked a bit taken aback himself, but he continued once he realized that he actually had Dakota’s full attention. “Please, Dakota,” he said. “I don’t want you making this harder than it already is.” Gently, he took Dakota’s hand and squeezed it tightly. Dakota wanted to cry. “And I want you to know that…that even though I don’t always say it, it’s been an honor to have you as a partner.”

Oh God, now he was really going to cry.

Seeming to realize that Dakota was too shocked to say anything, Cavendish appeared to steel himself and turned around, ready to walk into the open and sacrifice himself to the Pistachions so Dakota could make a run for it.

“I’ve seen you die one hundred and twelve times.”

Cavendish stopped in his tracks.

Dakota stepped forward, his heart hammering against his ribs so loud that he was sure they’d be discovered at any second. He’d swore on his life that he could never tell Cavendish about this but if this didn’t make Cavendish reconsider then nothing would. “I’ve seen you get shot. Stabbed. Harpooned. You’ve drowned in quicksand and water and lava. You’ve gotten hit by cars and trains and you’ve fallen down mountains. And I’ve seen it all. And every time that happened, I went back in time to save you.” He swallowed, wishing that Cavendish would turn around. “There are a hundred and eleven copies of me because of what I did and they all live on a hidden island in the middle of the ocean.”

It was hard to tell how much time passed. Days. Years. Several small eternities. Cavendish didn’t move and Dakota couldn’t, not even as the sounds of the Pistachions in the distance got louder and louder.

“Cav?” Hesitantly, Dakota put a hand on Cavendish’s shoulder but his partner still didn’t move. “Cavendish, say something. Yell at me. Say—say that I shouldn’t have messed with the timestream. Just please—”

Cavendish turned around, and Dakota instantly shut up. His partner looked as though he’d been hit in the face with something heavy. He kept opening his mouth and closing it, as though he didn’t know what to say, and when he finally managed to speak, his voice was very quiet. “Why would you do that?”

_Because you’re my partner. Because you’re the only friend I have and I can’t stand to lose you. Because you’re Cavendish and what else am I going to do?_

But none of those responses sounded right, and Dakota felt the world wash away as he discovered the answer within himself, surprised that he hadn’t located it sooner. “Because I love you.”

No,  _this_  pause lasted for eternities. The universe expanded, collapsed, and burst outward again.

Cavendish raised his hand, and Dakota was afraid for a moment that he was going to get slapped, but that changed when Cavendish grabbed him by the collar, pulled him close, and kissed him.

It wasn’t anything spectacular—the angle was awkward and the jumper cables were pressing into Cavendish’s chest—and it didn’t last long, but it made him feel like he was floating nonetheless.

“I love you too,” Cavendish said once they had pulled away from each other. He was smiling softly but his eyes were sad, and Dakota realized that even after what had happened between them—even after telling Cavendish his secret—Cavendish still wanted to sacrifice himself to save Dakota and the others. Because that was just the kind of person Cavendish was. “You’ve saved my life numerous times, Dakota. Now let me return the favor.”

Dakota didn’t trust himself to speak without crying, but he managed to nod.

Cavendish swallowed. For the first time he actually looked afraid, but he straightened up, cupping Dakota’s face in his hands like he was memorizing every detail of it. “Save the world for me, will you?”

In answer, Dakota wrapped Cavendish in a tight hug. Pulling back made him feel physically ill, but he knew that if he didn’t leave now, he never would. And who knew what was happening to Milo and Orton Mahlson by now…

With one last look at him, Cavendish ran out into the street. “Hey! Come and catch me, you overgrown weeds!”

Dakota watched two Pistachions shout that they found one and chase after his partner, and then forced himself to look away and run toward the gas station. He ran as fast as he could, his shoes pounding against the pavement, and tried his best to ignore the shouting happening in the distance. The sound of someone being thrown into a brick wall and crumpling to the ground.

Finally arriving—with no Pistachions on his tail—he found Milo and Orton Mahlson fighting off a couple of Pistachions with crowbars, and immediately moved to assist them. Once the last one had been taken care of, he tossed the jumper cables at Orton, who barely managed to catch them. “It’s positive to positive, then negative to negative.”

Milo was gazing around the room, looking confused. “Uh, Dakota?” he said carefully. “Where's…where’s Cavendish?”

“He sacrificed himself to save me.” His voice was so hoarse that it didn’t even sound like it belonged to him. "So I could make a run for it.”

Milo covered his mouth with his hands, eyes widening in shock. “Oh no.” Even Orton turned around, pity and sympathy etched in every line of his face. “Oh, God, Dakota. I’m sorry.”

He thought of Cavendish’s last words to him, of their kiss, and he released a shaky breath, hot tears pricking his eyes. He quickly swiped them away, knowing he had to be strong for Milo. “Yeah, kid,” he whispered. “Me too.”

The roaring of the time vehicle’s engine jerked Dakota out of his trance, and the sound of voices outside spurred him into action. He ushered Orton and Milo into the car, automatically moving toward the passenger seat before remembering that Cavendish wasn’t there to drive. That thought nearly sent him into tears all over again, but he stubbornly shoved that feeling aside and sat down in the driver’s seat, closing the door behind him.

“Alright,” he said to himself. “Let’s do this.”

_I won’t let you down, Cavendish. I’ll save the world for you. I promise you didn’t sacrifice yourself in vein._

And with that, Dakota pushed down on the gas pedal, and the three of them reentered the timestream.


End file.
